Large Amu Darya shovelnose sturgeon (small-narrownose form)
Nukus Balyk fish hatchery (Nukus, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan)
Recirculating aquaculture system (RAS)
April 2024

Video: https://youtu.be/a-ODfTTvXu4

The fish was caught in the Amu Darya river in Khanka area (Khorezm province, Uzbekistan)

In 2020 Nukus Balyk fish hatchery (Nukus, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan) was registered as Amu Darya shovelnose sturgeons propagation facility. It provided the Amu Darya shovelnose conservation project (https://life-on-earth.ru/amu-darya-and-syr-darya-shovelnose-sturgeons/amu-darya-shovelnose-sturgeons-conservation-uzbekistan) with a line of recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). Water in the system is refreshed from the Amu Darya river through a canal.
It"s the first step towards Amu Darya shovelnose sturgeons propagation and conservation efforts.

Nukus Balyk fish hatchery (Nukus, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan) is opened for visiting to watch Amu Darya shovelnose sturgeons on preliminary arrangement. Addrress and the contact are mentioned below.

The Amu Darya shovelnose sturgeons Conservation Project in Nukus currently needs the following equipment:
EHEIM Universal 3400 water pump
https://eheim.com/en_GB/aquatics/technology/pumps/universal/universal-3400

EHEIM Universal 2400 water pump
https://eheim.com/en_GB/aquatics/technology/pumps/universal/universal-2400

EHEIM compactON 600 water pump
https://eheim.com/en_GB/aquatics/technology/pumps/compacton/compacton-600?c=1776

Schego WS3 air pump
https://schego.de/en/hobby/

If you have an ability and good will to help the project you may buy the equipment mentioned above and send it directly to Nukus:
230903 Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan Republic, Nukus district, SSG "Samanbay", Rybzavod
Tel./ Telegram/ WhatsApp: +998 91 2610001 Kallybek Primbetov

230903 Узбекистан, Республика Каракалпакстан, Нукусский район, ССГ "Саманбай", Pыбзавод. Тел./ Telegram/ WhatsApp: +998 91 2610001 Каллыбек Примбетов

You may also communicate with Alexey Chernyak. Tel./ Telegram/ WhatsApp: +7 926 5288128

Detailed info in English: http://life-on-earth.ru/amu-darya-and-syr-darya-shovelnose-sturgeons/amu-darya-shovelnose-sturgeons-conservation-uzbekistan
Detailed info in Russian: http://life-on-earth.ru/amudarinskie-lopatonosy/amudarinskie-lopatonosy-proekt-sokhraneniya-uzbekistan
The photos:
Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni caught in Amu Darya River (near Khanka, Khorezm, Uzbekistan) in 2015. The photo was taken in Khorezm Mamun Academy in Khiva (a branch of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan) where the fish was kept in captivity for several years for conservation purposes.

Now this was a bit of a surprise.
Swam out when I lifted a rock. It then tucked into a space nearby. Very weird things. Habitat shot last. That's the spot he was in before I flipped the rock.

~4cm long
Lower intertidal.

Drama. These guys all normally get along pretty well, but here a squirrel decided to start something and nearly got kicked in the head as reward. Moments later they were back to munching sunflower seeds side-by-side again.

Sound processed with Kaleidoscope Pro software and verified manually. AUTO Bat ID = 95% positive match.

Sound collected with AudioMoth.

Please message for further details.

Notes:
The first sound recording is normal speed (+41 gain) the second is 1/10 (+23 gain). Pulses between gaps removed on both visuals and sound clips.

For further information of the observation see: Langner, Christian Georg 2017. Hidden in the Heart of Borneo-shedding light on Some Mysteries of an Enigmatic Lizard: First Records of Habitat Use, Behavior, and Food Items of Lanthanotus borneensis Steindachner, 1878 in Its Natural Habitat. Russ. J. Herpetol. 24 (1): 1-10

Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania. I was working in early morning light from a boat on Lake Nzelekela when a crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) seized a Tilapia. 600 mm lens mounted on a Wimberley head and tripod. Natural Light. Pam Osborn image

First iNaturalist record.

With Graham Armstrong, Pete Ellis, Steve Guy, Guy Langan, Paul Harvey, Phil Heath, Ian Lewis.

Seen for more than an hour after dawn, in a small loose group of Eur. Curlews, feeding in a short-grass field on the south side of the main lake. This was "limpy" - the bird that had been shot about 3 weeks earlier, but seemed to make a recovery.

This location is the last known wintering site for this species. The last record from here was in February 1995.

Here is a link to the last video taken at this site, in January 1995:

http://www.hbw.com/ibc/video/slender-billed-curlew-numenius-tenuirostris/bird-foraging-short-grass

Первая встреча вида в России - наблюдение совместно с Марией Шведко и Александрой Коломиец.

The first record of the species in Russia - observation jointly with Maria Shvedko and Alexandra Kolomiets.

Фото предоставлено Е.Н. Коршуновым.
В 2001–2002 годах сотрудники Керженского заповедника выпустили в пойменные озёра на заповедной территории 51 выхухоль, отловленных в пойме р. Оки. Во время учётов 2012–2013 годов выхухоль обнаружена в водоёмах поймы р. Керженец как в заповеднике, так и за его пределами.